Ashes To Ashes
by CloudyDream
Summary: Wherein Aerys does manage to burn King's Landing to the ground. Everything else follows.


_commit his body to be consumed by fire;  
commit his ashes to the ground,  
earth to earth, dust to dust..._

They were too late, Ned thought; once they arrived close enough to feel the heat of the burning hell that was King's Landing.

The hell that_ had been_ King's Landing, earlier that same day; and now was only an immense funeral pyre. They had heard the screams from miles away; but now there was no sound coming from the city but for the crackling of the fire, and the crashes of buildings falling down. Ned would have thought that the hills would be safe from the fire, and yet he could see the remains of the Grand Sept and the Red Keep blazing bright, even more than the rest, like some sort of monstrous beacon.

They had seen the flames blazing even before they had started to hear the screams, even in the light of the day; and they had known the city could not be saved. Half a million people, Ned knew it. How many children, he found himself wondering, how many babes no older than newborn Robb? How many simple men and women fled into King's Landing to escape the war ravaging their lands?

_They came looking for salvation_, he thought; _and now they are all dead_.

And he ignored that sinking feeling in chest, every heartbeat a word. Lyanna, Lyanna, Lyanna.

"My Lord," Ethan Glover called, approaching, shivering visibly. He had been Brandon's quire, and the last time he had been King's Landing he had seen Lord Rickard burn.

"They say there's nothing to be done."

Ned has suspected that as well, but some part of him had wanted to hope. He turned his gaze on Ethan, away from the burning city. "The sentinels couldn't find a way into the city, not with all the fire, and we are still waiting on the ships. We…" he paused briefly, and Ned knew what he was remembering. He dreamed of it every night. "We will need to wait until it cools off."

_And let the dying die alone_. He wondered how long it would take. Days, but how many? Surely they could hope for some winter rain.

But there was nothing they could do, either. Theirs had been a war fought at land and not at sea, and Lord Maderly's fleet was still anchored in White Harbor. _The Tyrells have ships_, Ned remembered. _But will they join Robert, now that Aerys is dead?_ In any case, by the time they arrived, it would be too late.

The flames were still high, still unbelievably hot; and Ned could see that some of them blazed green. _Wildfire_. But as dangerous as wildfire was, the pyromances kept every barrel under lock and key, with painstaking carefulness. _But if someone were to open the wrong door, in the excitement of the battle…_

"Do we know what caused it?" Ned asked, and Ethan nodded.

"We think so. Some of Lord Tywin's men survived," Ethan said. "They were at the gates, and escaped. They were prepared to sack, said Lord Lannister had promised them the spoils of war. Someone must have gotten carried away."

"Carried away?" Ned repeated, feeling a burst of anger. _Only a bloodthirsty murderer would use that as an excuse_.

"_Carried away_? Do you see that… that –" he could find no words to describe it; and yet he was feeling almost glad they had not arrived sooner. His thought went to Catelyn in Riverrun, the wife he barely knew; and to the heir to the North she had named after Robert. _Had the fire started only an hour late, Catelyn would be a widow, now_.

But perhaps he could have stopped it, Ned thought. If he'd arrived before the men from the Westerlands there would have been no fire at all; his men were disciplined and honorable enough, he was sure – all of his men, not only the Northmen. After one year fighting side by side, he trusted the men from the Riverlands and the Vale as much as he did Lord Dustin's and the Umbers', and perhaps even more than he trusted Roose Bolton's.

No, there would have been no fire, he was sure of it.

And with the realization came the guilt. If only he had not lingered to talk to Robert at the Trident, or waited for Lord Hoster to talk to Lord Frey. If only they had started the march sooner two days ago, like Howland Reed had suggested; if only Ned himself had pushed the men a little harder under the rain that morning. If only.

"King Aerys was fond of fire," Ethan offered then, his voice barely a whisper. "Of wildfire, especially. If someone had started a fire in the Keep, then…"

Then… "Is there any word," _of Lyanna_. Rhaegar might have sent her away to Dragonstone, if only to spurn Robert if they were to take the city. _Let it be so_, he found himself praying. _Let it be_.

"Is there word of Robert?" he found himself asking instead; if only because the answer would have been easier to stomach. Robert, wherever he was, was certainly alive; the maesters had seen to that. _And yet I had to see with my eyes, when I could have been here sooner…_

"No yet, my Lord." Ethan answered. "But.. we have word from Dragonstone. Hearsay, mostly, but it's almost certain that Queen Rhaella and Prince Viserys are there – " he paused; and Ned could read the ugly truth in his eyes. "And no one else. Even Prince Rhaegar's wife and children were in the Red Keep."

_And no one else_.

"I understand," Ned heard himself saying; but it did not sound like him. It wasn't the voice a lord should have, so soft and bitter and… lost.

"I understand," he repeated, this time more strongly. "Please, do let me know when we hear from Robert, or Jon." Ned paused, blinking away the smoke in his eyes. "I think I would like to be alone, now."

"Of course, my Lord," Ethan began; but stalled before leaving, and Ned could see him trying to find the right words.

"I am sorry, Ned," it was all the other man said, in the end; and it was those three words that sealed it, made it real._ I am sorry, Lya. That I didn't get here in time, that I let you die._

Ethan left, eventually; and then it was only Ned, and the burning city, and the day that turned to dusk.

* * *

**SOOOOO:** this is the one-shot I'm _most definitely_ returning to as soon as I have the time since SO MANY PLOT BUNNIES. So, here's my outline for the future – I'm uploading it so I'll have a moral duty to come back to this (feel free to borrow in the meanwhile):

The city burns and no one knows it was Aerys who did it – they think it was one of Tywin's men, who took the chance to sack the city after waiting out the war, and House Lannister is disgraced. Kevan is Warden of the West, Tyrion is stored away (he's seven, and will grow up resentful) so that Cersei can become Lady of the Rock. She marries (surprise pairing!) and grows up still a bitch but somewhat balanced.

With the capitol burned to the ground if Robert wants to held the 7k together can't afford to waste resources, so no siege of Dragonstone. The Targs + fleet go to Tyrosh. Also, Lyanna is believed dead, with no Ned searching for Lyanna the KG moves her to Starfall and she survives the birth – and, guess what, she ends up in Tyrosh, too.

Cue fourteen years later *dramatic drumroll*

Do you see it now _why_ I want to write this?


End file.
